State asked to pay more for influx of criminals

Sunday

Feb 10, 2013 at 12:01 AM

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, joined three other San Joaquin Valley Democratic lawmakers in asking the state for more money to pay for the larger-than-anticipated numbers of criminals that counties in the region have had to absorb from the state prison system.

The Record

Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, joined three other San Joaquin Valley Democratic lawmakers in asking the state for more money to pay for the larger-than-anticipated numbers of criminals that counties in the region have had to absorb from the state prison system.

Since October 2011, counties have been incarcerating, supervising and trying to rehabilitate criminals that had previously been handled by the state. This public safety "realignment" was meant to reduce the population in the state's prison system through a historic shift of responsibility and money to county governments.

And just how much money that is has been a concern in counties, in particular in the Valley.

On Thursday, Eggman and three other Assembly members from the region sent a letter to the California Department of Finance Director Ana Matosantos to speed up the allocations of money meant to cover the cost of counties handling more criminals than were originally projected. The 771 inmates San Joaquin County supervised after their scheduled release from prison was about 48 percent higher than projections, according to the letter.

The letter notes previous criticism from legislators in the region that funding disparities mean some counties received markedly less money per offender than others.

Referring to AB109, the legislation that created the realignment, the letter reads: "Unless funding is targeted more closely to AB109 populations, many San Joaquin Valley counties, who now house, supervise, and provide the types of evidence-based treatment and supervision programs that are proven to break the costly cycle of re-offense and re-incarceration, will be further constrained due to financial limitations."

The letter was signed by Assembly members Eggman, Henry Perea, D-Fresno; Adam Gray, D-Merced; and Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield.